December 2025’s Movers and Shakers: Clash of Clans’ esports manager, Metacore’s new CTO, Ali Farha joins Behold Ventures, and more

To keep you up to date with the latest movers and shakers in the mobile games industry, we've put together a regular roundup of the latest hires, promotions and, in some cases, exits.

If you've recently joined a company or bagged a big promotion, or you're an employer that's just made a hire, drop us an email at news@pocketgamer.biz.

Getting competitive at Clash of Clans and raising funds for Behold Ventures

Rachel Rakowski has joined Supercell to lead Clash of Clans’ global esports programme, set to spearhead strategic development and execution.

She has been playing Clash of Clans for more than 10 years, whilst accruing leadership experience at companies like Jagex, We Are Social, Right Formula, and Red Bull.

"I’ve been playing CoC for over a decade, and it’s an incredible feeling to now contribute to a game I’ve loved for so long - one cherished by millions of players around the world. My mission is to build an esports program that’s worthy of this passionate community and to continue the outstanding work done by the Clash team and those who came before me," Rakowski posted on LinkedIn.

Prominent games industry voice Ali Farha has joined the investment firm Behold Ventures as an associate.

The role will see him drive fundraising initiatives and help portfolio studios to grow.

Farha’s experience in games ranges from Futuregames to The Game Assembly and Star Stable Entertainment, while his career as a whole has also spanned education, technical development and advisory work.

Leading games tech at Metacore and directing franchise strategy at EA

Metacore has appointed Petri Hyökyranta as its new CTO, bringing experience from Rovio, Small Giant Games and more.

He is set to lead Metacore’s games technology as the Finnish studio looks to "reclaim the forerunner position" in the casual and merge-2 space. The company is investing in tech and leadership with hopes of scaling up Merge Mansion and other future titles.

"Petri’s experience in building and scaling industry-leading games is exceptional. His arrival strengthens our ability to develop and operate high-performing titles. With the level of ambition we have as a company, Petri is exactly the tech leader who can help us get there,” said Metacore CEO Mika Tammenkoski.

Hyökyranta added: "Technology is an enabler for successful mobile games. For us it’s not just a delivery mechanism, but a strategic asset. That’s why building common tools and scalable tech foundations will be one of my key focus areas. Joining Metacore has been a genuinely great experience. I’m looking forward to working with everyone, with a clear drive toward our shared goals."

Jennifer Poulson is EA Sports’ new senior director of franchise strategy and marketing, having joined the company after a year’s career break.

Following years in leadership roles across Bandai Namco, Riot Games and Immutable, the time out gave Poulson a chance to reflect on the type of work she finds most fulfilling. This reflection has led her to the new directorial role at EA, overseeing NHL, F1 and UFC franchises.

"Excited to contribute to how EA redefines sports fandom and delivers true player-commitment to meet our dedicated fans wherever they are," she posted on LinkedIn.

HR at Riot Games and AI at Apple

Wendy Tan has joined Riot Games as director, HR business partner for APAC.

She brings 20 years of human resources experience to the role across industries like tech, pharmaceuticals, power and logistics. She spent nine years at Unity, and spent the past year at Cushman and Wakefield as people partner director.

"As I step into this new chapter, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone at Cushman & Wakefield. I’m deeply thankful to the colleagues, mentors, and teammates who made the journey meaningful. Here’s to new beginnings, and to all who have been part of my journey so far," Tan posted on LinkedIn.

Google’s former Gemini head of engineering Amar Subramanya has made the move to Apple, taking on the role of VP of AI.

After 16 years at Google, he most recently spent six months at Microsoft and has now brought his range of machine learning experience to the iPhone maker.

Subramanya has stepped into the role as head of artificial intelligence John Giannandrea steps down, set to serve as an advisor for Apple until his retirement next spring.

New hires at Scopely, Metacore, Voodoo and more

Lawrence Koh has joined Scopely as SVP and general manager, following five years leading FC Mobile’s growth at EA.

Entrepreneur and games industry exec Eugene Evans has joined Asmodee on the board, set to support the company's management team.

Making a change after 12 years at King, Daniel Lindkvist has joined Metacore as head of engineering.

Former TT Games studio head Jason Avent has joined Six Peaks Games as a founder and non-executive director.

Voodoo has hired Izel Puza as senior user acquisition manager and Stefanie Schmiedel as art director.

Jeremy Lee has joined EA as VP of The Sims.

Solmaz Yilancioglu has moved from Sandsoft to Zynga, taking on the role of senior manager, user acquisition.

After more than eight years at Google, Aradhana Biradar has joined Apple as partnerships manager, developer relations, India.

Shawn Kittelsen has joined Paramount Games as SVP, head of creative and production.

Level Up Gaming has appointed Alexander Poysky as chief acquisitions officer.

Joining the ranks at Rovio, Netflix, Gameloft and more

Rovio has hired Deanna Carter as lead AI engineer.

Fortis Games has hired Daniel Loane as senior game designer.

Rohini Sarkar has joined Lego Digital Play as senior manager of research and insights.

Javi Garcia has been hired as a new senior artist at Supercell.

David Duong has joined Netflix as a director of games product management after more than five years at Respawn. Meanwhile, Alexander McKinney-Raphelt has joined Netflix’s game studio Next Games as studio art director and Giuliano Cremaschi has been hired as game director.

SocialPoint has hired Antonio Corrales as a senior software engineer.

Anthony Pascale has joined NCSoft as director of UA and data.

Hyo Sun Kim has joined Nexon America as a lead public relations manager.

Wehype has hired Dimitra Papangeli as junior partnership manager as part of its Rising Stars programme.

Joaquín PerezJoaquín has joined Gameloft Barcelona as principal activation manager.

Funday has hired Hannibal Sigfusson as its newest game programmer.

Clément Etienne has joined CrazyLabs as a game owner.

Doğukan Incirbölen has joined Vertigo Games as a junior game developer. Esma Özkaya is the studio’s new administrative operations manager.

Modma Games has hired André de Miranda Cardoso as senior gameplay designer.

Vamsi Penmetsa has joined Funcell Games as a strategic advisor and VP of market intelligence.

Guy Blomberg has joined Stride PR as VP of business strategy.

Chris Pett has relocated to Germany to join Remote Control Productions as business development manager.

Promotions and reshuffles at Product Madness, Newzoo, Appcharge and more

Veli-Pekka Piirainen is reprising his role as Critical Force CEO after almost three years. In the interim, he remained as founder and chairman of the board.

Pierre-Paul Giroux has departed Unity after more than 14 years, stepping down to work on personal projects like building his own game.

Jeremy Widdowson has been promoted from marketing lead to head of growth at Rovio’s Game Evolution studio.

Product Madness has promoted Valerie Zinkova to the role of senior product data analyst. Ezgi Ergüney has been promoted to product marketing manager.

Jonathon Fox has been promoted to senior director of analytics at Epic Games. Melanie de Arakal has been promoted to paid media director.

Jose Rodrigues has been promoted to head of business development at Newzoo.

Vishwas Kadam is now senior marketing artist at Gameberry Labs.

Lightheart Entertainment CEO Kalle Kaivola has become an advisor at Redly Games.

The Tech Talent Co. founder Hayden Green is now a talent advisor for Sequoia Capital.

Appcharge has promoted Noam Sachartov to product team lead.

AppAgent has promoted Roberto Sbrolla to head of its Growth Team.